Wall Color of Patient's Room: Effects on Recovery

The purpose of this study is to explore how one environmental feature, namely color, may impact patient recovery in the cardiac care unit of Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Florida. Shands Hospital is located at the University of Florida and is a 576- bed private, not-for-profit hospital.This research aims to provide the interior design profession as well as the medical profession with a source of knowledge that will provide evidence about the physical environment’s impact on patient well-being. It is hoped that this study will demonstrate that a designer’s personal preference for a particular color should have little to do with the selection of colors in hospitals. Instead, colors should be chosen based upon their ability to aid in the patients’ recovery process.